As I’m reading the news about yesterday’s Iowa caucus, the process of winnowing the race has begun. Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic nomination. His web page has this note from his NH Chair, Jim Ryan:

Tonight, we witnessed a great man, a great American, and a great friend of mine fight a proud fight out in Iowa. He didn’t spend millions of dollars, he didn’t throw the mud, and when the dust settles tomorrow, nobody will question Senator Biden’s conviction, nobody will question his passion, nobody will question his experience, and nobody will question his integrity.

The problems that we faced at the beginning of the day are the same now. We need to get our troops out of Iraq responsibly, we need to change our policy towards Pakistan and ensure that nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of terrorists, we need to make sure that our children have health care, that we fix No Child Left Behind so that we can actually educate our children and give teachers the support that they need, and that we restore America’s moral authority.

Senator Biden has stood entire life for those who didn’t have a voice, in his authoring of the Violence Against Women Act and his call for support for the countless victims of genocide in Bosnia under Milosevic.

I am proud to have had the opportunity to have come to know Senator Biden, to have worked with and to help shape the debate in this race.

Christopher Dodd also left the race, saying this:

I count the past year as one of the most rewarding in a career of public service. Unfortunately I am withdrawing from the campaign tonight. Thank you for all your efforts throughout the course of this entire Presidential campaign. I will be in touch.

Looking at the South Carolina primary web page I found a few minor Republican candidates and have added them.

As for Iowa, I have to say that I’m pleased to see Barack Obama win as he is the candidate I intend to vote for. Hillary Clinton finished third, behind John Edwards; I don’t think Edwards has a realistic chance of winning the nomination and this news has more to do with Hillary. I like Hillary now as I did when she was First Lady, but I worry that she is such a polarizing candidate that she will become a target in the general election. I’m also aware that this may continue the “Bush/Clinton/Bush” dynasties. On January 20, 2009 I hope to wave goodbye to the Bush family forever from the White House, and I wonder if a Hillary presidency will cause the Bush family to try to find another family member to win the Presidency back.

I’m also concerned with the idea that Mike Huckabee won. Truth be told there is no Republican candidate I would consider voting for but Huckabee worries me. He believes that creationism should be taught instead of science and I don’t think this will be good for the country. I’ll probably write more later.